Prince Charles married his second wife Camilla Parker Bowles on this day in 2005 – more than 30 years after they had first begun a relationship.

As shown in the video above, the couple were wed in a small civil ceremony at Windsor’s Guildhall, witnessed by the Prince’s eldest son William and Mrs Parker Bowles’ son Tom. Though Prince Harry was also in attendance, the Queen and Prince Philip were absent.

They did however join the couple for a service of blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle led by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, and attended by about 800 family members and friends.

Prince Charles and Camilla at their Windsor Castle blessing.

The Prince of Wales had first met Camilla Shand in the early 1970s, and the couple enjoyed a romance that was curtailed when Charles travelled abroad with the Royal Navy. In addition, Camilla was pursuing an on-off relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles, who she would marry in 1973.

Mrs Parker Bowles divorced her husband in 1995 but it was widely believed that her romance with the Prince was rekindled well before then – leading his first wife, Princess Diana, to claim in her Panorama interview with Martin Bashir that there were “three of us in this marriage”.

After the death of Diana, the couple’s relationship stabilised and they were first seen publicly together in 1999. By 2002 Camilla was seen to be accepted into the Royal circle, and was invited to attend the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.

On becoming married to the Prince, Mrs Parker Bowles took the title HRH Duchess of Cornwall. The couple enjoyed a reception held for them by the Queen at Windsor Castle, before travelling to the Prince’s residence in Scotland for their honeymoon.

What did you think about Prince Charles marrying Camilla Parker Bowles? Do you think she will be widely accepted as Queen if Charles becomes King? Let us know in the Comments section below.

Charles and Camilla – Did you know?

  • Although it is claimed that Prince Charles and Camilla Shand met at a polo match, other sources say it was at a social event, though the pair would subsequently often encounter each other after polo games at Windsor Great Park.
  • Despite the personal unpopularity of the Prince following revelations about his affair with Camilla during his marriage to Diana, by 2005 polls suggested that the majority of the British public supported the couple’s decision to wed.
  • The Church of England was said to be divided over the Prince remarrying; nevertheless the Archbishop of Canterbury said the wedding plans were “consistent with Church of England guidelines concerning remarriage.”
  • Despite this, neither the Queen and Prince Phillip nor Camilla’s father attended the civil ceremony. The Queen’s absence was said to be due to her concerns over her position as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
  • The couple would have preferred to wed at St George’s Chapel, but that venue had no licence for civil marriages.
  • A statement issued from Charles’ household said that if and when the Prince became King, his new wife would not be known as Queen Camilla, but as the Princess Consort – though legally speaking, Camilla would indeed be considered the Queen.
  • The Prince and the Duchess will spend their 10th wedding anniversary privately at Birkhall, on the Balmoral estate in Scotland where they honeymooned and also spent their first wedding anniversary in 2006.